Many products, and in particular electronic products, that are transported today require protection from shock. Conventional structures used in protective packaging are made of expanded polyurethane, polystyrene, polyethylene and polypropylene foams and other molded resin materials. Such foams and resin materials are widely used in industry because of their economical advantage but they are not recyclable or biodegradable. Unfortunately, these materials are commonly used one time and then discarded to end up as permanent matter in landfills.
Materials including paperboard, poly-coated paper or plastic film are economically efficient and proven to be eco-friendly such that they can be easily included within present recycling systems. Generally, paperboard and many other sheet form materials can be manufactured efficiently and in high volume, thus driving their relative price down.
Many sheet materials exhibit very high compressive and tensile strength sufficient to support the weight of packaged products when combined properly. However, existing paperboard or flat stock based packaging products do not sufficiently take advantage of the properties of the materials they are made of and do not effectively protect the products they contain. As a result, either more packaging material or greater box volume is required in order to to adequately protect a given component from shock, making such products economically and environmentally unsuitable.
There is a significant need for protective packaging that is economically competitive and easily recyclable.